| September, 2009 Volume 2, number 1

Paul Ekman, Ph.D 2009

Why Lies Fail. . . Part 1

By Paul Ekman, Ph.D Notalldo. Canttalknow,justonthewayout thedoor. Iloveyournewdress. Whatagreatevening,thanksso much. Sorry,couldntgetababysitter. Suchliesofeverydaylifeusuallygo undetectedbecausethetargetwantstobemisled. Itwouldberudeifthetruthweretobetold: Idontwanttotalktoyounow,or ever. Thedressistotallyinappropriatefor asomeoneyourage,andcoloris wrongtoboot. Thefoodwasdullandthecompany worse. Idontwanttogetstuckwasting anotherevening. And,itwouldalsoberudeifthe targetchallengedwhetherthetruth wasbeingtold. Anotherreasonsuchtrivialliessucceedis becausenothingisatstake,theliardoesntexpect tobequestioned,doesntfearbeingcaught.Ifby accidentthetargetlaterfoundoutthatthetruth hadnotbeentold,whathadbeensaidwasan excuseorflattery,noharmdone. Researchshowsthatitiseasytotellsuchtriviallies preciselybecausenothingmuchisatstake,sothere willbenocluestodeceitindemeanor.Ofcourse manyliestrivialorseriousaredetectednot fromwhattheliarsaidorhowheorshesaidit,but fromothersourcesunrelatedtotheliars demeanor.Awitnessobservesaviolationofthelie, orsomephysicalevidence(lipstickontheshirt collar),forexample. Itisonlywhenalotisatstake,whennot onlyavaluedrewardwouldbelostbutalso punishmentwillbedeliveredifthelieisuncovered, thatthereisachancethattheliarsdemeanorwill betraythelie. No,Iamnottheleastbitangry;Ireally appreciateyourcriticism. Liesaboutastrongemotionfeltrightatthe momentarethehardesttotellsuccessfully.It doesntmatterwhichemotionisdenied:anger, fear,disgust,contempt,excitement,enjoyment, sadnessorsurprise.Eachoftheseemotions generatesinvoluntarychangesinfacialexpressions, voice,posture,gazeandposture.Mostpeople cannotdeliberatelyinhibitorcoverevery manifestationofanemotionwhenitisfeltstrongly. Theemotionalloadtheburdenoftryingto concealanysignoftheemotionthatischurning awayinterferesalsowiththeabilitytospeak coherentlyandconvincingly,sothatthewords spokenmayalsobetraythelie.

* Doyourownfeelingsinfluencehowwellyourecognizetheemotionsshownbyotherpeople?Yes.Whenyou

areinthegripofanemotion,youarelikelytoonlyrecognizeanotherpersonsemotionsiftheysupportthe emotionyouarefeeling.Evenifyoucorrectlyrecognizeanotherpersonsemotionsyouarelikelytointerpret thatpersonsmotivationforhavingthatemotioninawaythatjustifiestheemotionyouarefeeling.

Dr. Ekman is the scientific adviser to a dramatic television series on FoxTV- largely based on his research. Read his blog at http://fox.com/blogs/lietome/?src=carousel_on_lietome
Paul Ekman PhD has been studying facial expression, body movement, emotion and deception for more than forty years. He is professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, San Francisco. He has authored or edited fifteen books, most recently Emotions Revealed 2007, and co authored with the Dalai Lama Emotional Awareness, 2008. Paul Ekman Group provides online training on how to recognize concealed emotions in microexpressions, classroom courses on Evaluating Truthfulness and Emotional Skills (www.paulekman.com). He has received honorary degrees from the University of Chicago and the University of Geneva, and the Distnguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association.

Paul Ekman, Ph.D 2009

No,Iamnottheleastbitangry;Ireallyappreciate yourcriticism. Liesaboutastrongemotionfeltrightatthe momentarethehardesttotellsuccessfully.Itdoesnt matterwhichemotionisdenied:anger,fear,disgust, contempt,excitement,enjoyment,sadnessorsurprise.Each oftheseemotionsgeneratesinvoluntarychangesinfacial expressions,voice,posture,gazeandposture.Mostpeople cannotdeliberatelyinhibitorcovereverymanifestationof anemotionwhenitisfeltstrongly.Theemotionalload theburdenoftryingtoconcealanysignoftheemotionthat ischurningawayinterferesalsowiththeabilitytospeak coherentlyandconvincingly,sothatthewordsspokenmay alsobetraythelie. Manyliesarenotaboutemotionsfeltatthe moment;rathertheyconcealapastaction,plansfora futureaction,thoughts,attitudes,orvalues.Ifthediscovery oftheliecouldresultinpunishment,thentheliarwillhave emotionsaboutengaginginthelies.Thesefeelingsabout lyingwillgenerateinvoluntarychangesindemeanorthat canbetraythelie. Aliarmightfeelsad,angry,ordisgustedwithhimself forengaginginalie,andthesignsoftheseemotionsifnot completelyconcealedcouldleak.Threeotheremotionsare mostfrequentlyfeltaboutengaginginaseriouslie. InoneofmyresearchstudiesIgavetheparticipants theopportunitytotakemoneythatwasnttheirsandlie aboutit,ornottakethemoneyandtruthfullyproclaim theirinnocence. WhenIbeganmyinterrogationIheldupmybook TellingLies,saying,Iwrotethisbook.IfyoulieIwillcatch youbutifyoutellthetruthIwillknowit.Iwastryingto increasethefearofbeingcaughtinthosewhowereabout tolieanddecreasethefearofbeingmistakenlyjudgeda liar,reassuringthoseabouttobetruthful.

Sincethesignsoffearlookexactlythesamein theliarafraidofbeingcaughtandthetruthtellerafraid ofbeingdisbelieved,signsofthatemotionareofuseless unlessthereisreasontobelievethatonlytheliarwillbe afraid. Fearincreasesthemorethatcanbegainedifthe liegoesundetected.Fearincreaseswiththeseverityof thepunishmentforbeingcaughtissevere.Thetruthful personafraidofbeingmistakenlyidentifiedasaliar,also willbemoreafraidwhenthethreatenedpunishmentfor thatmistakenjudgmentissevere. Pastsuccessintellingaparticularliemultiple arrestsbutnoconvictions,manyaffairsneversuspected, drugusenotnoticedbyparentsgeneratesconfidence, justasatargetknowntobesuspiciousincreasesfear. Liarswhohavetheopportunitytorehearsewillbeless afraidofbeingcaught. ScottPetersonshowedmanyexamplesoffearin hisinitialpoliceinterrogation.HiswifeLaci,eightmonths pregnant,wasreportedmissingonDecember24,2002. Afterhechangedhisstoryaboutwherehewaswhenshe disappeared,andhismassagetherapistgirlfriendcame forwardrevealingthathehadtoldhertwoweeksbefore Lacisdisappearancethathiswifewaslostthepolice becamesuspicious.Aretiredlawenforcementofficerand Ireviewedavideotapeofhisfirstinterrogationatthe requestofthelocalpolice.Wedidnotthennowthe girlfriendsstory. Petersonshowedmanymicroexpressionsand somenotsomicroexpressionsoffear.Wehadto considerwhetheritmightbeaninnocenthusbandsfear ofbeingdisbelieved.Thereweresomanyotherformsof leakagethatwewereconvincedhewasthemurderer.I willdescribesomeofthoseothersbehavioralsignsthat suggestedhewaslyinginmynextnewsletter.Peterson wassentencedtodeath.Hiscaseisonappealtothe SupremeCourtofCalifornia.Hemaintainshisinnocence.

* Send in your questions about lying; we will try to answer one question in each subsequent newsletter